Texas family considers divorce to pay for daughter's healthcare bills

Parents of a child in Texas with a rare chromosomal disorder are considering divorce to qualify for Medicaid and pay for their daughter's care, according to a WFAAreport.

Maria and Jake Grey's 6-year-old daughter Brighton has Wolf-Hirschhorn Syndrome and requires full-time care. Even with health insurance, the family spends $15,000 per year out of pocket. Mr. Grey makes roughly $40,000 annually, and the family doesn't qualify for Medicaid and is far down on waiting lists for other state assistants.

The family is thinking about getting a divorce so Ms. Grey could become a single mother and qualify for Medicaid.

"We've just struggled and struggled with it, and now we've gotten to the point, where we feel [divorce] a real possibility," Mr. Grey told WFAA. "For someone to kind of make you choose between your marriage and your child is just — it's just a really weird spot to be in."

Thad Miller, DrPH, a professor at Fort Worth, Texas-based UNT Health Science Center, said he has never heard of a family seek divorce due to circumstances regarding healthcare.

"It's just shocking, and I really think it speaks to our need to really rethink what we do and how especially for the most vulnerable," Dr. Miller told WFAA.